Wayward Hearts
by can-o-meat
Summary: The Animorphs are minus a teammate and alone in the wild. Then Rachel is rescued by a girl that could be the key to rescuing Ax. WARNING: violence, language, FF
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The Animorphs are minus a teammate and alone in the wild. Then Rachel is rescued by a girl who could be the key to getting Ax back. WARNING: violence-gore, mild FF

Standard Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. They all belong to Applegate. Except Talya. She's mine. latches

Violence Disclaimer: More detailed than the books; written for mature audiences.

Language Disclaimer: Some strong language.

Sex Disclaimer: None.

Thanks to: Meethrill. For encouraging me to continue this.

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Chapter 1: Flight

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POV: Rachel

We ran. We ran as hard and fast as our legs would allow us. Which, because we are human, wasn't fast enough.

Even though I knew we could never escape this being's grasp, I just kept on running. Branches hit my face like a thousand lashes, leaves cutting my cheeks like paper, underbrush and thorny vines tearing up my legs. But none of this mattered, because behind us not twenty feet from my heels was a beast that would have blown anybody's mind (well, any NORMAL human's mind). Why?

Because the creature looked like a mix between a lion and an elephant. Seriously. I'm not saying it was pretty -the thing was ugly as sin- but the teeth and claws on the monster was enough to scare any Earth animal into an out-right sprint.

Which brings me back to what we were doing here in the first place.

Well, it turns out the Yeerks had a base in a cave in the Rocky Mountains. Which explained why we were in Colorado. So, being the alien-invader-fighters that we were, we went after their slimy asses. Of course, they were slightly more prepared than we were when we got there. We stood and fought, and I still have blood on my hands from several of the men I killed. Well, they weren't men anymore. See, these Yeerks -a parasitic race of alien- get in your head and take over your body.

Anyways... we fought, we lost Ax -an Andalite (the good-guy alien race)- and now we were running for our lives while a Yeerk-infested monster we'd never seen before barreled through the shrubbery to kill us.

Just another day in the life of Rachel.

Of course, as we were flying across that mountain side, we were all praying that we'd somehow make it through this alive. And just as I was huffing out my prayer, my foot hit something -a root, a rock; it didn't matter what the hell it was, it tripped me all the same. A second later I was eating dirt.

My heart was in my throat... and so was bile. This was how I was going to die; not fighting some huge danger to save my friends, but thrashing on the ground as a weak and pathetic human. My reputation was down the tubes.

The creature came at me unafraid. That made /me/ afraid. Of course, I'd never admit that to anyone else. After all, I was Rachel!

I raised a hand to try and wound it in some unimaginable way, but the thing already had skin that was as tough as an elephant's. My nails bounced off harmlessly, leaving me cringing. Then the teeth flashed above me, and I was in the dirt again, thrashing and choking. Pain screamed in my right shoulder and neck. And I knew there was blood when I slipped in it and landed nose-first in it.

"Rachel!" It was Cassie who was yelling in fear of me. I had no time to reply as I found my feet and faced down this behemoth.

Damn he was a lot bigger close up!

Standing on my legs I started to find my grizzly bear form in hopes of scaring him off. As soon as the changing began he gave me a curious look and then snarled, lunging at my form. I was like a guinea pig trying to face down a guard dog. Putting my hands up in front of my face to shield myself from his attack, I looked away.

My sides heaved, and as much as I had anticipated that feeling of being hit by a freight train, it never came. Instead, I heard the sounds of a battle. No gunshots, no metal-on-metal; pure animal screams of fury and anger. Which made me wonder if the others had finally launched a group attack. I didn't think too much of these sounds as I got to my feet and found out I was a human again and Cassie's arms were around me and helping hold me steady.

Then I saw Jake and Marco moving through the foliage towards us. Tobias landed in a tree just off to my right. They were all accounted for, but the battle still raged behind me. Something clicked in my brain that said, 'This can't be right!'

My shoulder and neck were on fire, and blood was staining the top of my morphing outfit. Everyone else's eyes were huge -nigh as big as dinner plates- and their mouths had hit the ground. I didn't know if this was going to be something that I liked, but I turned around anyways.

After I closed my mouth and shoved my eyes back into their sockets, I took the scene into perspective.

A wolverine the size of my grizzly form was pissing the creature off so that it acted out rashly. And, although the lion-elephant was larger, heavier, and stronger, it was very slowly succumbing to the giant wolverine. Their harsh cries tore across the countryside, but it was the wolverine's growls that were the most nerve-racking. It was like hearing a stuck pig -except there was furious anger in the noise. Skin tore on both parties' bodies, sounding oddly like ripping paper. Blood was getting everywhere, and the battle grew even more vicious as it became clear the alien was loosing.

But then it was over in a final thundering bellow that was heightened by the dying scream of the Yeerk-controlled animal.

When the wolverine stepped back, it stepped back on it's hind legs several feet and then fell onto all fours heavily. It made no show of it's kill, but, instead, turned to face us -or, rather, me.

"It's too big..." I heard Cassie whisper. Then, "Wolverines can't walk on two legs!"

POV: Jake

Cassie was right: it was too big to be a normal wolverine, and it had just walked on two legs instead of four. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural. Or friendly. Why it wasn't attacking us now, I wasn't sure. Why it would have attacked THAT creature and NOT us, I was also unsure of.

"Rachel?" I glanced in her direction, hoping she'd be all right. As tough of an impression as she made, she wasn't the Wonder Woman she thought she was. She was still human; fragile flesh and brittle bone. There was no reply; she was too busy watching this newest threat. But she did have a hand over the gash to staunch the blood momentarily.

I would have done something to help, but Cassie was already there. Rachel and Cassie… I swear they're joined at the hip sometimes!

That was the moment the over-sized wolverine decided to move forward, once more rising onto it's hind legs. We all took a step back, unsure of what this thing was. As strange as this was already, it was going to get stranger.

Run.

For a moment, I wasn't sure I'd even heard it. But then I noticed Marco's eyes got even bigger. We turned and bolted, the over-sized two-legged talking wolverine close behind us. I was afraid. Why were we listening to this thing? What if it was herding us into a trap? But, though I was afraid, instinct told me to listen to it. And I did. I ran harder.

It wasn't long after we'd started running again that we heard trees snapping in half. I threw a look over my shoulder and caught sight of another lion-elephant coming up behind us.

Shit!

And even as I thought this, there was a sudden explosion. My ears hurt so much that I hit the ground with my knees, clutching at my throbbing ears. All the others were doing the same. Then I realized the wolverine was attacking this one, too. Except this time the wolverine was loosing. A huge hole gaped where there had once been flesh on its chest. Blood was gushing from the wound like a fountain, matting down the black and crème fur. And it was sustaining even larger wounds; slaps that cracked like thunder bruised flesh, teeth found arms or legs, claws sunk deep and tore. Well, while the thing was distracted, might as well run. 

"Go!" I hissed to the group.

Rachel look at me in bewilderment. I notice she was still grasping at her shoulder. I could give no reply. I just wanted the hell out of this circus. And so we ran again. The bellows weren't as loud anymore, but they weren't faint in the least.

POV: Marco

I really wanted to piss my pants. I mean seriously. Right here, right now. I was so afraid that I thought it might relieve my nerves just a little... "Run!"

Of course, Mister-Leader-Boss-Man-Sir!

Not only was I running, I was spiriting. My lungs ached, my feet hurt as they got torn up, and all my muscles were crying. But it was a small sacrifice if I wanted to live and not be eaten alive. So, I ran on reserves.

We were running, leaving the two beasts behind to rip each other apart, until we nearly ran head-long into yet _another_ lion-elephant. We scattered. Like cockroaches. I heard it coming after us. It wasn't far away at all.

Actually, I think it was following me.

Oh, lucky me.

Marco, the monster charmer!

POV: Cassie

After helping Rachel, my best friend in the entire world, I didn't want to leave her side. But I did. Instincts. All instincts. It was so annoying!

So I was going to try and find her. Reconnect. "Rachel!" I called out over my own panting, hoping to hear her reply.

"Cass!" Rachel's voice. Left. "I'm he--- ahhhhhh!" Pure, sheer terror. An animal's triumphant bellow shook the trees. And then silence. Stomach churning silence.

"Rachel," I choked on her name as I slowed, the booming footsteps having halted. Tears burned my eyes. "Oh, Rachel." I went looking for her.

POV: Rachel

It was on me, choking the air out of my lungs, one giant foreclaw on my chest, pinning me to the ground. I raked at the coarse paw with my human fingers, my vision waning. But then there was a horrific cry of joy (actually, I think it was a shout of glee), and the beast fell off me. I was choking, breathing hard, chest heaving, a hand grasping futilely at my shoulder as I cried out in pain. Tears rolled down my cheeks as the pain finally hit home. And though I was crying, I could see through the tears to the one who had, once again, saved my life. It was the wolverine, who looked like he'd gone through a paper shredder a few dozen times.

It staggered forward a few steps, looked at the corpse beside it, and then looked to his right as Jake, Cassie, and Marco came running over for me. They grabbed me up greedily, refusing to let me thank the creature. As weird and strange and head-spinning as this all was, this next thing was the frosting on the damn cake.

The wolverine stepped forward and then changed. LIKE US! Well, more smooth than we could manage. In the step forward it was like the wolverine fell in on itself, but left a girl standing where it had been. The girl emerged from the beasts hulking form, still carrying the wounds she'd taken during the fight with all three lion-elephants.

The whole "changing thing" was something we were used to, but this was a complete stranger! We'd never met another human with the morphing capabilities. She wasn't very pretty... exotic was more of the word I was looking for. Yes, exotic. Other than the strange color of her eyes and skin, she looked rather plain. She had gold eyes set in a fine-boned face framed by dark brown hair that fell straight to mid-back. Her figure was slim, but there were very obvious muscles beneath her tight, very pale skin. Scars criss-crossed her frame, her wiry limbs held at her sides. She looked a little malnourished, too.

Only then did it dawn on me she was wearing absolutely _nothing_ when I stared transfixed at her wounds.

The gaping hole that had been torn into her chest was disgustingly obvious; the wound probably measured a foot running from her left shoulder, across her collar bone, and into her right breast, the blood ran in rivulets across her toned stomach, down her legs, and into the grass at her feet. I think I saw a small patch of white (rib cage, I think). There was also a laceration down the left side of her face, disappearing up into her hairline and at her chin. Black bruised patches and small scratches were myriad on her svelte body. I judged her to be around eighteen.

I thought for a second I might be sick.

Jake had that wide-eyed look on his face again, then tried to look away to give the girl privacy. Cassie adverted her eyes immediately, and Marco stared shamelessly (although I think he was more genuinely surprised than anything else -he wasn't drooling for once). Tobias was gawking as only a hawk could.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Friendly Strangers

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POV: Rachel

"Y-you-you... saved my i>life /i> ," I finally managed lamely. It obviously only just now dawned on the others; I saw it in their eyes.

"Make haste, young morphers, the Yeerks are sending reinforcements. We have little time to waste; find your fastest beast and use it." The girl didn't seem concerned about the whole naked part, and, apparently, neither did Marco. I jabbed him in the ribs with my free elbow and glowered at him.

Jake moved forward. Jake, our leader-and-commander. "How is it thatyou can morph?" he questioned skeptically. The girl was suddenly confused, her brow wrinkled and her head tilted to one side. "Onlywe were given that ability!" There was a bit of anger to Jake's voice.

"I don't understand your question." The voice was haunting; smooth and dark and smoky. But the peace was short-lived. The young woman spun on her heel, growling, and then hit the ground as a fennec fox.

I was very confused right now. The girl did have the morphing ability, but she was quick; there had only been two or three seconds from human to animal compared to our two minutes. But where did she get this ability?

I didn't have time to answer myself because I suddenly understood why she had wanted us to run. Only a hundred yards behind us we heard grunting. Whatever it was, it was big and mean and under the Yeerk's control. We all new that. Glancing in the girl's direction, I found a wolf form and took off after this stranger, watching her tail and oversized ears as she bounced along a trail I couldn't see.

One moment she was hundreds of pounds of angry wolverine bloody from battle, the next she was a beautiful young woman, and the next she was a petite cream-furred fox.

This was all too much; my head reeled.

POV: Jake

I was tiger right after Rachel, running with all I was worth to keep up with that tiny ball of fur as she darted in and out of view. Although I usually distrusted strangers, I couldn't bring myself to distrust her. For some reason I felt she was a friend I had known for a long time.

Glancing at the others, they looked to be deep in thought as well. This was all a lot to take in in such a short period of time. The grunting grew fainter as we charged through the woods, our destination unknown. Or so I had thought.

The fennec fox we had been chasing for almost a half hour suddenly disappeared. We came to a halt. Rachel stuck her nose to the ground and tried to follow the scent.

It was an unnecessary action, because the little fox burst out of a burrow and scampered behind us. By now, I was very confused. And when I say confused, I mean CONFUSED.

Anyone else confused? I kept it to my friends, who all agreed in turn.

Good. It's not just me, Marco muttered, also in his wolf morph.

The fox took hold of a branch in her mouth and started straining backwards, managing to reveal a fairly good-sized hole in the ground. Go inside. It is safe. I made it many months ago in case I had to make a quick exit. The Yeerks' Jwndin are large and strong, but they have very little in the way of tracking.

Again, I felt hesitant. And, again, I ditched my common sense. I went first, slipping into the hole. It was a fairly large hole, but it was made for something a little smaller than a tiger. My back rubbed the ceiling and my belly scraped the floor. But then it ended, and I found myself in a massive -okay, I say massive, but it could probably hold ten human adults comfortably- burrow. It was very dimly lit, but I could see various piles of things lined up against a wall, and many more things strewn across the dirt floor.

Cassie and Marco followed closely behind me, Rachel insisted on coming in behind the fox, and Tobias awkwardly brought up the rear.

Everyone quickly found their human bodies again, even though our night vision was less than spectacular.

While our bodies were still twisting and reconfiguring themselves, the girl had resumed human form and was tidying up.

POV: Marco

Even as I changed, my bones aching as they stretched and bent in odd ways, I could see the girl. It was near sunset already, and the red glow of the sun cast everything in a blood-hued film.

She was otherworldly to me; pretty in a petite, pale sort of way, her eyes a dazzling, eerie gold, her dark chocolate-colored hair falling gently across her back as she moved gracefully here-and-there. We were almost done changing back completely when she broke open some thick green plant that started oozing all over. It was like sap, except it was a translucent green and smelled slightly sweet.

Rachel jabbed my ribs again so I looked away, but not before I saw the girl smear that oozeinto her wounds. I suddenly felt sick. I looked away, holding in the urge to throw up.

POV: Cassie

The girl was an even better morpher than I was! Still, I had always been the mediator, and we still needed introductions. Clearing my throat, I looked her in the eye and forced myself to keep my gaze from straying down. "Umm... hello. I'm Cassie-"

"Jake, Rachel, Marco, Tobias." The girl nodded. "I know. You are familiar among the animals." She smiled, although I had the distinct feeling it was more of a smirk. "I am Talya."

"What do you mean 'familiar among the animals'?" We had all unconsciously found a sitting position, the burrow too small to stand in comfortably for long (that, and we were tired).

"I live among the animals, and they've told me countless times about the 'humans-that-walk-as-animals' that have been fighting in this area." She turned her gold eyes on Rachel, and I noticed something flicker there; compassion? curiousity? "Here, Rachel, this will temporarilyalleviate your pain." Talya stretched her right hand out, took hold of one of those thick green stalks, and passed it to Rachel. "The sap it secretes can be used as a pain reliever."

"Umm... thanks." Rachel took the foreign plant and turned it over in her hands, confused.

I liked the face Rachel made, and hid a giggle behind one of my hands.

"Why does it take so long for you to morph?" She glanced curiously at me, and I froze.

I didn't know how to answer this and looked around at my fellow Animorphs for help. Jake took the floor, thank heavens.

"It's always taken us that long. That's just how it is. The same way you can morph so quickly." This recieved a nod from the girl. "How is it that you can morph?" Jake gave her a pointed look, and I saw confusion playing across the girl's face.

"I was born with it, of course. And how can you wear clothing? Doesn't it tangle about your limbs?"

Rachel was shooting the nastiest looks at Marco, who was trying his best not to make a smart comment to this seemingly naive young woman.

Jake caught his eye and shook his head, and Marco settled down.

This was my question.

"Our clothes are skin-tight," I pulled at my leotard and let it snap back into place, "so we can morph the clothing with us. It took me several tries to learn that." I gave a friendly smile, hoping to make nice with this stranger.

She nodded, taking this in, and then glanced at the entrance to the burrow. "Your homes are hours away from here I suspect, and night has crept in. I invite you to spend the night here, if you so wish. I understand if you'd rather leave." This last sentence sounded a little sad, though she kept a serious face. The others probably missed that, but they didn't say I could read people like a book just for the hell of it. I opted to avoid the subject until later.

I looked at Jake. We all did.

POV: Jake

What was I supposed to do? Say no and have us all go back out there to walk in the dark with those (what did she call them?) Jwndin running around? I wanted to stay here, yes, but was it safe? She really didn't seem very threatening... but I had seen her fight -and KILL- that Jwndin that had attacked Rachel. That wasn't innocent; that was brutal. But everyone looked tired, beat, pleading. And Rachel was in a lot of pain; she needed rest.

I looked back at the young woman and nodded. "Thank you, that sounds nice. But, I have one term." I felt eyes on me. "I want to keep watch through the night." Thisseemed to bother the girl.

"But don't you need your sleep? Surely you are exhausted. I wouldn't mind-"

"I want to do it." I was adamant. I didn't trust her to watch our backs while we slept, helpless and vulnerable. I also didn't trust her not to slit our throats while she slept.

She looked stung, I saw, but she nodded a terseconsent.

"One more question." Rachel was clenching her teeth, trying not to show the pain was overwhelming her slowly. "Why are you still injured?" Using her free hand, she motioned towards the gaping hole ripped into Talya's chest.

"I suppose I do not heal the way you humans do.Your wounds fix themselves when you leave the beast behind;when I get injured it stays there until it heals on its own." She shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "But I have a rapid healing rate-"

"Cool. Like Wolverine?" Marco's comment, of course.

Talya fell silent, reguarding Marco like he was speaking in an alien tongue.

"Uhh... continue, Talya," I threw a look at Marco to shut up.

She glanced off into space and sighed. "There is a stream not far from hereyou can use to clean up in in the morning. Rachel, leave the sap on the wound and then clean it out tomorrow in the water. I'll give you more sap to reapply afterwards."

Rachel nodded.

My head was starting to hurt real bad now. Without a second word, everyone else retired on the dirt floor and I changed into my owl morph so I could better see and hear in the gloom as I took watch.

Marco curled in his own corner, Tobias did his best to nest in the dirt next to where Rachel and Cassie lay together. Talya was the last to find somewhere to sleep. She used a pile of leaves I guessed was her bed anyways, and pulled some sort of ragged animal fur over her petite form. Perhaps it was the moonlight playing tricks on my eyes, but I was pretty sure I saw tears in her eyes that refused to fall.


End file.
